Mountain Biking - Fork advice please

Hey guys, I have an old, old Rock Shock Judy XC on a GT Avalanche LE. My Rock Shox Judy XC fork has gone to ****. Do new springs help? or should I just buy a newer fork that still is compatitble with my old style of breaks? I have a 300ish price range for this upgrade. Let me know what i should do and/or what is a good and light front suspension for your money.

What do you mean by "old style" of brakes? Are they linear pull/V brakes, or centerpull cantilevers that require a cable stop on the fork bridge?

What do you mean by "old style" of brakes? Are they linear pull/V brakes, or centerpull cantilevers that require a cable stop on the fork bridge?

shimano deore xt.....i think the are V brakes

Yes they will be the V brakes, old school.

.....

What do you guys think about the following
1) Rock Shox Recon Race 120mm air ... New for $329.00
2) Fox Vanilla 125 R ...Used for $300.00
3) Manitou R7 100mm...New for $320.00

Fox.
Fox.
Fox.
Fox.

For your bike the R7. Your judy is 80 mm travel? ATC measurement is key, but rule of thumb is no more than 20mm increase in travel or the geometry gets sluggish.

What about the Rock Shox Dart 3? Do they suck as much as my Judy's did?

What do you guys think about the following
1) Rock Shox Recon Race 120mm air ... New for $329.00
2) Fox Vanilla 125 R ...Used for $300.00
3) Manitou R7 100mm...New for $320.00

That's waaaay overpriced for the Fox. I bought a 2005 Vanilla R 130 brand new OEM take-off for $213 from Jensonusa.com in 2006.

The Vanilla 125R (black label with blue "Fox" font) has to be at least 2004 or older. To me, it wouldn't be worth more than $125.

Though I do recommend a Fox...you can get more for your buck from Rockshox.

ATC = ride height? (as seen here)? (http://www.manitoumtb.com/index.php?page=fork&fork=R7+Super&discipline=all)
I assume that's what they( Manitou) are talking about, the 60mm travel judy's were about 406 mm ATC and the 80mm travel were about 423mm ATC. The R7 80mm travel is listed there at 456 ATC.

I'm in the same situation as the original poster, so thanks for the positive responses.

man if u have a 300 dollar budget then u could get a decent fork for about 200 something and then upgrade to mechanical disc brakes there only about 45 bucks for each set.

I may be old school, but I just rebuilt my '96 Judy on a Scott Vertigo LSD with a set of Kronos Springs off of ebay. My damper was in good shape, so it wasn't a lost cause, and the rebuild was simple. I put it through it's paces and it works and feels great. I bought a 29er that came with a Tora Race a few weeks ago. I'm expecting to feel a nite & day difference, but I haven't had the chance to take it into the woods yet. (Came low on air pressure and just got my pump on Monday) For $35, I think it was well worth it to not mess with the geometery, keep the lighter weight fork, and not put $300 into a vintage bike, especially since I convinced myself to put that $300 towards the new 29er. Just my 2 cents!

Where did you get the springs for the Judy rebuild and how well do they work? It might be better to go with a new XC fork with air the mess with springs

Where did you get the springs for the Judy rebuild and how well do they work? It might be better to go with a new XC fork with air the mess with springs

I got them from Ebay - search "kronos springs", they have the different colors/spring rates. They work great from the 30 miles or so I've rode on that bike so far. Only you can decide whether you want a new XC air fork or mess with the springs in the Judy.